Contractors Lose Confidence in Q3 but Remain Upbeat

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While construction industry leaders remained confident in the third quarter of 2018, optimism slipped relative to the second quarter, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Approximately three in four construction firms expect that sales will continue to rise over the next six months and closer to one in 10 expect sales to decline over the next two quarters. Though many firms expect to become even busier, fewer than six in 10 contractors expect profit margins to increase, a reflection of rising human capital, materials prices and other input costs. Despite … Read more

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Price of Construction Materials Declines in November, ABC Predicts Moderate Increases in Early 2019

Construction materials prices fell 1.8 percent in November, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors’ recent analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Despite the monthly decline, materials prices are still 5.3 percent higher than they were on a year-over-year basis. Nonresidential construction input prices fell 1.7 percent for the month, and are up 5.8 percent compared to the same time last year. Prices declined in five of 11 subcategories, with crude petroleum (down 29.5 percent) and unprocessed energy materials (down 11.5 percent) experiencing the largest decreases. Only natural gas recorded a substantial increase in price: up 15 percent … Read more

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Adolfson & Peterson Construction Earns Distinguished Building Award

TEXO announced the 2018 Distinguished Building Award recipients and Adolfson & Peterson Construction was acknowledged for its work on USPI Southlake Medical Office Building located in Southlake, Texas. Developed by USPI and designed by E4H, the facility is home to Baylor Scott & White Southlake Family Medicine and Touchstone Medical Imaging, among others.The awards embody the skill, commitment and passion that TEXO members have for construction. Winning an award automatically qualifies projects for the state and national award competitions for both ABC and Associated General Contractors of America. AP was selected in the Health Care 2 ($10-30 million) Category and … Read more

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Robins & Morton Wins Awards from ABC of Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Robins & Morton received six Excellence in Construction awards from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama at the annual Excellence in Construction Banquet in November. ABC recognized the following projects: UltraStar Multi-tainment Center at Harrah’s Cherokee in Cherokee, North Carolina: Commercial $10 Million to $25 Million, Excellence Award (First Place) Florida Hospital Carrollwood in Tampa, Florida: Healthcare $50 Million to $100 Million, Excellence Award (First Place) Brookwood Baptist Medical Center Hybrid Suite in Homewood, Alabama: Healthcare Less Than $10 Million, Merit Award (Second Place) Kanvwotiyi Residential Treatment Center in Robbinsville, North Carolina: Healthcare $10 Million to … Read more

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ABC Predicts Construction Sector Will Remain Strong in 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu forecasts another strong year for construction sector performance, yet warns about inflationary pressures, according to a recently published 2019 economic outlook. Job growth, high backlog and healthy infrastructure investment all spell good news for the industry. However, historically low unemployment has created a construction workforce shortage of an estimated 500,000 positions, which is leading to increased compensation costs. “U.S. economic performance has been brilliant of late. Sure, there has been a considerable volume of negativity regarding the propriety of tariffs, shifting immigration policy, etc., but the headline statistics make … Read more

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